Established in 1997 in Denmark, Baltic Sea Docs will celebrate its 25th edition this year. For 17 years the event has been taking place in Riga, where each September it gathers around 150 documentary film professionals for a preparatory workshop, public pitching sessions, individual meetings, and seminars. This year the forum will be organised in a hybrid format.
The film projects to be presented at Baltic Sea Docs 2021:
9-Month Contract (Georgia)
Directed by Ketevan Vashagashvili
Produced by Nino Chichua, Anna Khazaradze / 1991 Productions
The Cello (Finland)
Directed by Kira Jääskeläinen
Produced by Oona Saari / Illume Ltd
Dedovshina (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan)
Directed and produced by Elyor Nemat
Exchange (Armenia)
Directed by Aren Malakyan
Produced by Vahagn Khachatryan, Sona Karapoghosyan / Ulik film production
Father’s Children (Latvia)
Directed by Karlis Lesins
Produced by Dominiks Jarmakovics / Woodpecker Pictures
Girls’ Stories (Poland)
Directed by Aga Borzym
Produced by Agnieszka Rostropowicz-Rutkowska, Marta Duzbabel / Pinot Films
Happiness (Estonia, Russia)
Directed by Dmitry Kubasov, Anastasia Murashkina
Produced by Max Tuula, Maria Gavrilova / Marx Film
The Invisibles (Poland)
Directed by Piotr Bernaś
Produced by Aleksandra Szczesna / Hasko Film
Irena (Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria)
Directed and produced by Giedre Zickyte / Moonmakers
Machina Faust (Estonia)
Directed and produced by Kaupo Kruusiauk / Flo Film OÜ
The Manifesto of Tenderness (Russia)
Directed by Ksenia Okhapkina
Produced by Vlad Ketkovich / Etnofund
Mara (France)
Directed by Sasha Kulak
Produced by Louis Beaudemont / Les Steppes Productions
Moscow Nights (Ireland, Germany, Romania)
Directed by Irina Maldea
Produced by Brendan Culleton / akajava films
Scarecrows (Latvia)
Directed by Laila Pakalnina
Produced by Uldis Cekulis / VFS FILMS
Searching for the Goddess (Lithuania)
Directed by Lina Lytė Plioplytė
Produced by Andrėja Čebatavičiūtė / Moonmakers
Stranded (Latvia)
Directed by Stanislavs Tokalovs
Produced by Guntis Trekteris / Ego Media
Up in the Air (Ukraine)
Directed by Oksana Syhareva
Produced by Anna Kapustina / ALBATROS COMMUNICOS UKRAINE
Upper Tensta, Stay or Go? (Sweden)
Directed by Karin Wegsjö, Nazira Abzalova
Produced by Karin Wegsjö / KW produktion ab
Prior to the public pitching sessions, project teams will be provided with training opportunities to enhance their project presentations. The tutors of Baltic Sea Docs this year will be the documentary film consultants Tue Steen Müller and Mikael Opstrup (Denmark), Salomé Jashi (Georgia), director of Taming the Garden (2021) and The Dazzling Light of Sunset (2016), sales and acquisition expert Gitte Hansen (Switzerland), film editor Phil Jandaly (Sweden), and others.
Film project pitching sessions will take place on 8-9 September. The projects will be presented to a panel of decision makers representing TV channels, sales and distribution companies such as MDR (Germany), YLE (Finland), Cats and Docs (France), BBC (UK), Al Jazeera (Qatar), TVP (Poland), LTV (Latvia).
In parallel to industry events, a film programme of international documentaries will be presented to the wider public, as well as an anniversary programme of films presented at Baltic Sea Docs at a project stage over the years. The screenings will be held in the cinema and online.
Baltic Sea Docs is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia and supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, State Culture Capital Foundation (special programme “KultūrElpa”) and the Riga Municipality. More information about the selected film projects and the event is available on Baltic Sea Docs homepage: http://balticseadocs.lv/industry/
